Macabre crypt containing UK’s highest amount of human remains is packed with skulls

The creepy crypt lies beneath the floors of St Leonard’s Church in Hythe, Kent, and is home to Britain’s largest collection of human remains

There are 4,000 skeletons in this church crypt – and only one is accounted for.

The creepy crypt lies beneath the floors of St Leonard’s Church in Hythe, Kent, and is home to Britain’s largest collection of human remains.

The bones in the underground tomb include the remains of round 4,000 men, women and children, their identities all unknown but for one – a priest murdered around eight centuries ago.

The bones have been bringing in people and money to St Leonard’s Church since the medieval times when pilgrims started visiting the shrine of Archbishop Becket following his murder in around 1200.

St Leonard’s started asking for a donation in exchange for seeing his shrine and the church soon started to become rich, Kent Live reports.

This has continued over the years, and visitors today are asked to give a small donation in exchange for viewing the collection of remains.

The shrine of Archbishop Becket accounts for one of the skeletons, but that still leaves 3,999 unaccounted for.

No one knows for sure, but some say they are victims of Black Death, whilst others believe they are the bones of soldiers.

The Victorians spread the myth that they were Viking raiders killed in battle or drowned at sea.

However the most likely explanation is that the bones accumulated as a result of the church’s expansion into a burial site, where the bones were simply dug up and stored in the church.

The church’s conclusion now is that they were Hythe residents who died over a long period and had been buried in the churchyard, and that the earliest of the remains were dug up in the 13th century when the church was extended.

No accurate evidence for the date of death of the people has been determined, but estimates range from 12th to 15th centuries.

In July 2018 thieves broke into the church using bolt cutters and stole 21 skulls from the collection.

Unfortunately the culprits were never found, but the church has since strengthened the security at the church and in particular the Ossuray.

At the time of the theft Reverend Andrew Sweeney said the crime had “disturbed” the whole community.